Jake Tapper. Screenshot/CNN CNN anchor Jake Tapper opened up "The Lead" on Monday by attempting to contextualize President Donald Trump's recent tweets aimed at delegitimizing a federal judge, polling, and the news media.

Tapper targeted three of Trump's tweets in particular. The first was from Sunday, following US District Judge James Robart issuing a nationwide temporary stay on Trump's temporary travel ban from seven majority-Muslim countries.

It followed up a tweet in which Trump labeled Robart as a "so-called" judge — which, as Tapper put it, seemed to question the judge's legitimacy and competency.

"Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril," Trump wrote Sunday. "If something happens, blame him and court system. People pouring in. Bad!"

"I call my own shots, largely based on an accumulation of data, and everyone knows it," Trump tweeted. "Some FAKE NEWS media, in order to marginalize, lies!"

He followed up later on Monday, attacking The Times by claiming the outlets "writes total fiction concerning me."

Tapper tried to sum up what it all meant.

"If a judge rules against the president, he's a so-called judge," the CNN anchor said. "If a poll shows that a majority of you disagree with his policies, the poll is fake. If a well-sourced news story reflects something unflattering about him, that story is fake."

"So, the judicial branch of government and the free press, two fundamental pillars of our democracy," he continued. "If we take actions he does not like, we are not legitimate."

Tapper then pointed to Trump's pre-Super Bowl interview with Fox News host Bill O'Reilly. During that interview, O'Reilly said Putin was a "killer" after asking him why he respected the Russian president.

"Lot of killers," Trump responded. "We've got a lot of killers. What, you think our country is so innocent?"

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